BS"D

Parshath Shemini
By Yitzhak Kolakowski
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STRANGE FIRE

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My dear friends, this week we read about how Nadav and Avihu died when
they offered a "strange fire" upon Hashem's mizbeach, a fire He didn't
command.

Hashem tells us exactly what goes on our mizbeach and what doesn't.
He loves us so much, and knows what's best for us.  When we do
something that Hashem tells us not to do, we're just hurting ourselves.
We might get consumed by this foreign fire which Hashem didn't command
us to bring on our mizbeach.  So often we get consumed by the foreign
fire which we bring on our holy altars.

Don't get consumed.  Just consume that which Hashem said is okay
to consume....

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My dear and holy friends,
 
Hashem knows why its important for us to eat kosher food, so He told us so.  He didn't
tell us why.  He just told us because He loves us so much.  He did it because He
wants to be close to us.  Just like you might not want to kiss someone
if they just ate garlic, Hashem doesn't want to show us His love for us
if we eat something tamei (spiritually impure).  And we want to be
close to Hashem, because we want to love Him so much.

When Moshe Rabbenu was a baby, he refused to drink the milk of an
Egyptian nurse, and eventually came to be nursed by his own mother,
by the grace of G-d.  The reason, Rashi tells us, is that the mouth which was
destined to speak from the Shechinah could not take life-giving milk 
from an impure source.  These lips would be kissed by G-d, and be fountain
through which Hashem would pour out His living-loving water of His Word to the
whole world.  How could G-d-kissed lips be contaminated so?

My dear-holy brothers and sisters:
The holy prophet Joel tells us "and it will come to pass later, that I will pour out my
spirit on all flesh.  Your sons and your daughters will prophesy.  Your old men will dream
dreams.  Your young men shall see visions."  Soon, every Jew will be a prophet.  Every
Israelite lip will be kissed by the word of G-d.  How can such holy lips be defiled by
eating non-kosher food?  When Hashem tells us this week to keep kosher, He's just saying
how much He loves us, so keep your lips clean so He can kiss them.  Is that too much to do
for Him when He does everything for us?  (Source: Kedushath Levi, Parshath Shemini)

Have a wonderful Shabbos